top of page

1 John 2 v 12 - 14

The first thing to note with this beautiful passage is that, though it is not exactly poetry, it is poetical so therefore should be interpreted as poetry. Secondly, John gives all believers the reason why we can stand firm and confident: remember who you are and what has been done for you-the One who is from the beginning and has created all that can be seen or cannot be seen knows you and is known by you. With that acknowledgement comes the strength to resist and defeat the evil one, whose most destructive weapons are guilt and shame. When you are tempted, remind yourself of who you are, not because of anything you have done, but because Almighty God has revealed Himself to you and you can draw on the supernatural strength which comes from Him. John gives his readers three titles here: 1. Little children 2. Fathers 3. Young men. Now it could be taken as the obvious physical age groups, but remember this is ancient John writing and he appears to call everyone 'little children!' Also, because the passage is poetical, we should hesitate to jump to so literal a meaning. When we study the passage more, we notice too that the blessings of which John speaks are not the exclusive possession of one age group. It appears that our rightful conclusion should be that John's is referring in each category to every believer. We can all find ourselves included in each and every category. These are then the gifts poured out upon us: 1. The gift of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. 2. The gift of increasing knowledge of God. In your understanding of God you are not now what you once were! 3. The gift of victorious strength. When we walk with Jesus, we walk with the One whose company can enable us to defeat the evil one's assaults.

6 views

Recent Posts

See All

Jude's final words contain encouragement, promises and warnings. It is clear that his heart was with them and that he was concerned for their wellbeing. He reminds his readers that God is in control,

This is one of the great passages of invective in the New Testament, although missing Paul's slices of sarcasm. It blazes with moral indignation at these people who would coldly and cunningly destroy

Cain, Balaam and Korah are fairly familiar figures to readers of the Old Testament and their stories can be found respectively in Genesis 4 v 1-15, Numbers 22-25 and Numbers 16 v 1-35. Cain was, accor

bottom of page